Unknown Worlds Entertainment, fully owned by Krafton, has launched a counter-lawsuit against former Subnautica 2 leaders Charlie Cleveland, Max McGuire and Ted Gill, deepening a dispute that already involves a $250 million earnout allegedly withheld by the publisher.
Court documents filed in California on 21 August 2025 accuse all three ex-directors of abandoning daily oversight, allowing the sequel to reach only 12 % of its projected 1.0 content while pressuring the board to release the unfinished game to trigger bonus clauses. Krafton labels the trio’s behavior “absenteeism, schemes and mischief,” citing irregular board attendance and pursuit of side projects such as Moonbreaker.
The filing asserts that the directors copied substantial volumes of confidential data near the end of their employment and refused subsequent requests to delete the files, branding the action “data theft.” Internal emails and play-tester feedback, partially redacted, are introduced to argue that an early-access launch in 2025 would have harmed the Subnautica brand.
The statement also claims a “near-universal community reaction” in favor of the personnel changes, yet the 59,000-upvote boycott thread on the official Subnautica subreddit contradicts that narrative.
The next scheduled hearing in the executives’ original breach-of-contract suit is set for 17–19 November 2025.
